Hurtigruten temporarily suspends operations

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Although the expedition cruise line has not yet had any confirmed or suspected cases on any ships, the decision was taken as countries around the world impose restrictions on movement.

The situation is affecting virtually everyone in one way or another stated Hurtigruten chief executive, Daniel Skjeldam.

He went on saying that Hurtigruten was  no exception. This was a setback for them, for the local communities they work with and for their guests.But the setback was only temporarily.

Hurtigruten confirmed the Alaska expedition cruise season will be postponed to July due to new travel restrictions from Canadian authorities.

The decision means that till  May 17th, May 31st, Jun 12th, Jun 24th and July 1st MS Roald Amundsen Alaska departures will be cancelled.

Operations on the Norwegian coast will also be suspended through to May 20th and the first scheduled round trip departure from Bergen will be with MS Vesterålen on May 21st.

Hurtigruten has deployed two ships in an amended domestic schedule and the newly upgraded MS Richard With and MS Vesterålen is bringing critical supplies and goods to local Norwegian communities hit hard by travel restrictions.

Skjeldam said that seeing their ships laying idle for a prolonged period of time instead of exploring is difficult.These are extraordinary and emotional times for the entire Hurtigruten team.

But he firmly believe it is the only responsible decision in the extraordinary crisis the world is currently facing.

To give explorers the confidence needed for their travel plans in a difficult and uncertain situation, Hurtigruten has introduced a flexible rebooking policy.

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